score football magazine

premier-league

October 2007

Continued from Day 8: On Monday evening Tottenham took the lead against Aston Villa at White Hart Lane with a 20th minute header from Dimitar Berbatov, but 2 minutes later Paul Robinson dropped the ball in front of goal for Martin Laursen to level the score. Spurs fell behind 11 minutes later when a header came off Laursen and found its way into the net through Robinson's legs; and went further behind 5 minutes from the break with a crisp shot from Gabriel Agbonlahor. Aston Villa extended their lead with a 59th minute Craig Gardner free kick leaving Martin Jol's men with a seemingly impossible task, but the Londoners pulled a goal back when Defoe struck the post and Chimbonda netted the follow up. A Robbie Keane penalty with 8 minutes remaining gave Tottenham hope, and when Younes Kaboul slammed the ball home deep into stoppage time for a 4-4 draw, the celebrations which coincided with Tottenham's 125th anniversary began in earnest.

Day 9
Premier League

United show true colours
After a goalless first half at Old Trafford, Carlos Tevez showed strength and composure in the 54th minute to give Manchester United the lead against Wigan. Two goals from Ronaldo (59, 76) and an 82nd minute Rooney header completed a 4-0 win for the Red Devils. A 24th minute deflected free-kick from Craig Gardner for Aston Villa against West Ham was the only goal at Villa Park in the other Saturday match. Due to midweek European club commitments most matches were played on Sunday, and in the early kick off Sunderland gave Arsenal a run for their money at the Emirates. Robin van Persie gave the Gunners a 7th minute lead smashing a thunderous free-kick in off the crossbar and Senderos doubled their lead in the 14th minute, but Ross Wallace pulled a goal back for the Black Cats in the 25th minute and when Kenwyne Jones beat Almunia with a header early in the 2nd half Sunderland saw an unlikely point in the horizon until van Persie forced the ball past Gordon with 10 minutes remaining to give the home side a 3-2 win. Paul McShane received a straight red for a challenge on Hleb in the last minute of the match. Andriy Voronin pounced on a rebounded Gerrard free kick to give Liverpool a 12th minute home lead against Tottenham, but 2 goals from Robbie Keane either side of the break took Liverpool to the verge of defeat until Torres rescued a point with a header in stoppage time. Manchester City enjoyed another good result; this time despatching Middlesbrough 3-1 with the help of Elano who scored with a piercing shot in the 33rd minute after City had taken the lead through an own goal. Elano curled in a free kick in the 63rd minute to make Benjamin Hutchinson's last minute goal for the visitors irrelevant. Late goals secured 3 points for Newcastle at home to Everton with Michael Owen showing his readiness ahead of England's matches against Estonia and Russia. Nicky Butt lifted the ball into the top corner 3 minutes before half time, but Andrew Johnson levelled matters for Everton in the 53rd minute. Emre lashed the ball home with 4 minutes remaining and Owen headed in the 3rd in the dying seconds although there still time for Everton to claim a consolation goal when Arteta beat Shay Given with a deceptive cross. Solomon Kalou scored the only goal of the match for Chelsea at Bolton, and a header from Kevin Doyle sent Derby home from Reading empty handed. Benjani and Hermann Hreidarsson scored in the space of 2 minutes in the second half to give Portsmouth a 2-0 win at Fulham. Blackburn pulled off a 2-1 win against Birmingham with David Bentley turning in the first after 15 minutes and McCarthy scoring from the spot in the 56th minute. Cameron Jerome gave Birmingham some hope with a thumping shot in the 68th minute, but the home side held on the win the match.

Day 10
Premier League

Reds rule Merseyside
Liverpool won the bragging rights after coming from behind to win the Merseyside derby at Everton. A Sami Hyypiä misplaced clearance in the 38th minute ricocheted off the post into the Liverpool goal, but Everton's fortune changed when Tony Hibbert ended Steven Gerrard's run with a challenge in the box which resulted in his dismissal and a penalty which Dirk Kuyt converted in the 54th minute. Phil Neville became the 2nd Evertonian to see red when he made a goalkeeping save to keep out a shot from Lucas in the last minute of the match. Dirk Kuyt stepped up again to beat the despairing Tim Howard and give Liverpool all 3 points. Manchester United also came from behind to beat 9-man Aston Villa. The home side had taken the lead with a 12th minute glancing header from Gabrieal Agbonlahor, but 2 goals from Rooney and another from Rio Ferdinand before half time gave the visitors breathing space in the 2nd half. A rash challenge in the 66th minute by Villa keeper Scott Carson saw him follow Nigel Reo-Coker who had committed his 2nd bookable offence 6 minutes earlier into the dressing room. Wayne Rooney failed to beat substitute keeper Stuart Taylor from the spot and later in the match struck the bar, before Ryan Giggs scored with a deflected shot 15 minutes from time to give the visitors 4-1 win. Arsenal stay top of the league after 2nd half goals from Toure and Rosicky against managerless Bolton at the Emirates, while a single goal from Elano at home to Birmingham gave Manchester City another 3 points. An early Didier Drogba goal and a rocket of a free-kick from Alex da Costa gave Chelsea a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough, and Portsmouth enjoyed the same score line at Wigan with goals from Benjani and an indivdula effort from Glen Johnson, both coming late in the match. Benni McCarthy, Roque Santa Cruz and a corker from Tugay in the first half gave Blackburn a 3-0 cushion against Reading who pulled a goal back through Kevin Doyle in the 80th minute only for Benni McCarthy to restore Blackburn's 3 goal deficit a minute later from the penalty spot. Doyle added another for the visitors in the last minute, but Blackburn were 4-2 winners. There were no goals at Fulham who played half the match with 10 players after Konchesky had been sent off against Derby County. On Sunday headers from Carlton Cole for West Ham and Kenwyne Jones for Sunderland and a vital fingertip save from Robert Green pushing Grant Leadbitter's fierce shot onto the post had had the teams level at 1-1 when Nolberto Solano's shot came off the post and hit the unlucky Craig Gordon to give the Hammers the lead again in the 78th minute. Craig Bellamy rubbed salt into the Black Cats' wounds with a last minute goal giving West Ham a 3-1 home win. On Monday evening Newcastle beat Tottenham 3-1 with goals by Obafemi Martins on the stroke of half time, Claudio Cacapa (51) and James Milner (73), while the visitors' glimmer of hope came from Robbie Keane in the 56th minute.

Day 11
Premier League

Chelsea show City class
Chelsea outclassed Manchester City at the Bridge to score 6 and move up into 4th place. Mickael Essien opened the scoring in the 16th minute and a 15 minutes later Frank Lampard split the City defence with a perfect pass allowing Drogba to double the lead. Drogba thumped home another in the 56th minutes and Joe Cole drilled a low shot into the net 4 minutes later. Solomon Kalou made it 5 with 15 minutes remaining and substitute Shevchenko got on the score sheet in the last minute to make a an impressive 6-0 to the Londoners. Manchester United overpowered Middlesbrough with 4 goals to make it 4 in their last 4 matches. Nani let fly an unstoppable shot to put United ahead after only 3 minutes, but 3 minutes later Jeremie Aliadiere equalised with a well placed header. Rooney hammered United into the lead in the 33rd minute and fed Tevez with a clever back-heel who scored 10 minutes into the second half. An 85th minute deflected shot from Tevez looped over the keeper to give United a 4-1 win. A brace from Marcus Bent was not enough for Wigan at Birmingham as Liam Ridgwell's goal was sandwiched between 2 Olivier Kapo goals giving the home side a 3-2 win. Dave Kitson fired Reading ahead with an inch-perfect shot in the 53rd minute at home to Newcastle who were on level terms through an own goal in the 76th minute, but with 6 minutes left substitute Stacy Long hit the winner for the home side seconds after being introduced to the match. A late header from Kenwyne Jones gave Sunderland a home point against Fulham who had been leading through a first-half Simon Davies free kick in a match that saw the hosts reduced to 10 men with the dismissal of Greg Halford in the 67th minute. Robert Green saved a last minute Benjani penalty to earn West Ham a point in a 0-0 draw at Portsmouth. On Sunday Nicolas Anelka curled a free kick into the top corner for Bolton in the 22nd minute, but Aston Villa denied Gary Megson a home win in his first match in charge when Agbonlahor's shot came off Luke more and beat the keeper in the 57th minute. A dummy from Yakubu allowed the ball to reach Arteta who put Everton ahead in the 26th minute at Derby, and it was Yakubu himself who slotted the ball past the keeper in the 63rd minute to give the visitors all 3 points. A 49th minute penalty from Robbie Keane gave Tottenham's temporary boss Clive Allen some joy at White Hart Lane, but Benni McCarthy equalised with a shot that took a deflection and struck both posts on the hour mark. Christopher Samba riffled in the winner for Blackburn in the 90th minute of the match. The most eagerly anticipated match of the week was between Liverpool and Arsenal in which Steven Gerrard scored with a canon of a free kick to give Liverpool a 7th minute lead which they held onto until 10 minutes from time when Fabrigas got on the end of a Hleb through ball to toe-poke the ball past Reina. Shots from Gerrard and Crouch had tested Almunia in the Arsenal goal while Fabrigas and Bendtner had twice failed to steer the ball into the empty net after it had fallen to them having ricocheted off the post.
At the end of October the top 5 teams are Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Blackburn.

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